VIEW: People of paradise —Maha Malik

The internet is a democratic institution. It encourages
problem resolution through dialogue
and due process

The issue of the Facebook ban lives on. It begins with the irresponsible behaviour of one woman in Seattle. She reacted to a local television syndicate’s very respectful decision. Known for its satirical content, the TV programme ‘South Park’, conceives an episode satirising religious leaders of the world, including Jesus Christ and Buddha. With respect to Muslim sentiment, the syndicate refuses to let this particular episode air on TV. It disallows any disrespectful mention or portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

A single individual in Seattle then reacts to this decision. Soon after, her reaction catches speed amongst a bigoted and under-educated community of people. A Facebook page is used as an ‘invitation’ to promote a competition involving caricatures of the Prophet (PBUH) of Islam. This is reprehensible. It is singularly offensive to both Muslims, and concerned non-Muslims, around the world.

But, both the provocation and its response suggest Pavlovian theatre. Every time a bell rings, the dog salivates. In this case, our esteemed government has banned Facebook, amongst hundreds of other web pages and sites. It should be provoked to ban the internet itself. For this is the problem we face: the internet is a democratic institution. Anyone can upload material on it, images, films, music, literature, and anyone can view it across the world, free of charge. Further, for every one site on the net, there are mirror sites creating, in a way, endless access. Then, if one search engine does not work, there are uncountable other search engines that will service the same need. This means that it is not possible to inhibit the internet.

The response that its structure demands is this: if you do not like a website, do not visit it. Also, every visit increases its net rating. This happened with the condemned Facebook site, given our ‘natural’ curiosity. Alternatively, put up material that will argue against the site, so that people may use their intelligence to view or join the ethically correct one, as presented by you. You may register a complaint against that particular website or web page. If it falls within the jurisdiction of net offences, it will be addressed according to its violation. The country’s government may also register a formal complaint against said offences in an international forum.

This means, again, that the internet is a democratic institution. It encourages problem resolution through dialogue and due process. Short of banning the entire technology and an entire modern system of functioning — and its innumerable advantages to governance, education, global finance, cultural exchange and so on — it makes no difference if a particular site is made inaccessible. The honourable Pakistani government’s response to this reprehensible act is strange. We have at hand an acute financial and corruption crisis, a security crisis, a water and electricity crisis, a state driven by ethnic strife and an immediate humanitarian crisis in Hunza, created expressly by official negligence.

We, the Muslims of Pakistan, are not victims. We have the intelligence and the dignity to give a befitting reply to bigoted and ignorant opinion. As by our Prophet’s (PBUH) life, we have the spiritual responsibility to respond to acts of defamation, as would he.

We should ask our government to launch our concern to the relevant authorities. We should ask our government to condemn this act of defamation locally. We should ask our government to denounce any individual or community that tries to sensationalise the situation, leading to possible loss of life. Finally, we should ask the government to encourage the usage of the internet, so that, once again, the true dignity of our presence and our belief systems is felt in the world.

We have, on all accounts, failed. We have fallen prey to the self-image of victimisation, helplessness and uninformed anger. We have let the political parties of Pakistan use this event to divert attention from the most urgent and most grave issues that concern our country today. Our own response is a crime in itself. We need to be sensible instead of being reactionary.

The writer can be reached at maha.q.malik@gmail.com